Duke Asili gazed at his sword. Though he had promised Erin ten exchanges, even his senior knight couldn’t block his blade that many times.

“Do you wish to take the promotion exam in the west for the glory of accomplishing the impossible?” Duke Asili asked.

Erin shook her head. “No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is your reason?”

Erin found it difficult to answer. She couldn’t honestly say she was going to search for clues about Ferdin’s death. Instead, she murmured almost unconsciously, “Because I have something I must protect.”

Erin had already stained her hands with blood. Students at Atenz Academy always took an oath before wielding a sword—that the only blood on their hands would be that of monsters. What was she then? Could she still call herself a knight?

Yet Erin was certain of one thing: even if she returned to the past, she would make the same choice again.

“Something to protect?” Duke Asili asked curiously.

“Yes.”

“What might that be?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“Cannot tell me…”

Duke Asili’s eyes lowered. In truth, her reasons weren’t particularly important to him. His goal was simply to prevent Erin from going west.

“This conversation is pointless,” he said. “If you cannot express it in words, then show me your determination with your sword, Erin Liserth.”

With that, Duke Asili raised his sword. However, the moment he faced Erin, he sensed something off.

‘She seems talented and performs well in sparring, but apparently hasn’t done much physical training.’

Yet he knew better than anyone that swordsmanship wasn’t perfected through physical training alone.

He intended to properly demonstrate what was needed to become a true knight, not just some genius.

‘Talent alone can never fill certain gaps. Understanding that is necessary to advance further.’

Beyond bone-grinding training, one needed to experience frustration, hit walls, suffer, and overcome those frustrations over time.

And so—the first strike. The Duke imbued his sword with years of experience, wanting to show this genius before him what could never be gained through talent alone. His strike wasn’t particularly fast, but it was unavoidable. Duke Asili was confident that even his senior knight couldn’t block this attack.

Clang!

But the result was completely different from what he expected. The clear sound of blades colliding rang out. Erin had blocked his sword.

* * *

Erin realized what the Duke was trying to test. But there was something the Duke didn’t know—she too could imbue her sword with years of experience.

‘In my first life, I learned frustration.’

Having experienced situations where no amount of struggle improved anything, she could push forward without giving up even after swinging her sword thousands of times and reaching her limits.

So she countered. The first strike.

‘My second life was nothing but insufficiency.’

There were many things she wanted to learn and experience but couldn’t. Having felt that burning desire, she had always practiced swinging her sword dozens, hundreds, thousands of times, trying to fill what was lacking.

The second strike.

‘My third life was a series of losses.’

She had grown stronger by grinding her bones and coughing blood. She knew about time that would never return. But many people were dying. She trained relentlessly to protect others.

The third strike.

Clang!

Her years of experience ran deeper than Duke Asili’s.

Fourth strike. Fifth strike. Sixth strike.

Their swords entangled. With each exchange, Erin’s arms screamed in pain. Finally, she felt her stomach turning. Her body was too fragile to contain such high-level enlightenment.

But Duke Asili didn’t stop. He knew that stopping here would be disrespectful to his opponent.

Seventh strike. Eighth strike. Ninth strike. And finally, the tenth strike.

Erin had blocked him perfectly.

* * *

The senior knight was waiting for Erin to emerge from the training ground.

‘She must be deeply disappointed.’

But this was the consequence of Erin’s overambition. Objectively assessing one’s abilities was also a quality of a knight. In that sense, Duke Asili’s willingness to spar with her to stop her was nothing short of a great favor.

‘He’s saving her life, after all.’

Not long after, Erin exited the training ground. But her expression was different from what the senior knight had imagined. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but she showed neither disappointment nor any sign of newfound realization. She wore the same calm face she had before entering the training ground.

So surprised by this, he forgot his intention to offer words of comfort. Erin simply walked past him.

‘What happened? Did they not spar?’

Confused, the senior knight cautiously stepped into the training ground. There he saw Duke Asili standing.

The senior knight couldn’t help but be surprised by Duke Asili’s appearance. Though seemingly lost in deep thought, there was a subtle smile on his lips.

“My lord?”

At that voice, the Duke looked at his senior knight.

“Is it certain that Erin Liserth first picked up a sword when she came to Atenz Academy?”

“Yes, that’s correct. She first picked up a sword at Atenz Academy.”

The senior knight looked at Duke Asili with confusion.

‘Are my eyes deceiving me?’

He rubbed his eyes. Duke Asili was smiling.

“This goes beyond what can be explained by mere genius.”

At his words, the senior knight turned around in surprise, wanting to check Erin’s condition once more.

‘Could he be talking about Erin Liserth?’

But she had already disappeared.

* * *

Back in her dormitory, Erin was packing her belongings. Not knowing how many weeks it would take to complete the promotion mission and find clues about Ferdin’s death, she had much to pack.

There must be a reason for the west’s devastation, but she didn’t know what the Emperor was plotting.

‘Will I survive there? Or will I die again like before?’

Her hands paused at the unbidden thought. Erin set down what she was packing and closed her eyes for a moment.

The day she died.

Erin could never forget the memory of that day. Throughout her reincarnations, she would have nightmares of that day whenever she closed her eyes.

“Damn it… Erin Liserth, you’re just in the way—run!”

Amon’s blood splattered across Erin’s cheeks. She stared blankly ahead, unable to comprehend the situation. Raymon’s sword was buried in Amon’s abdomen.

“R-run…”

“How foolish. You could have lived if you’d run away alone.”

Erin stepped backward.

She saw Raymon smiling kindly at her. Was she dreaming? Yes, she must be having a terrible nightmare, just like always. Otherwise, why would Raymon kill Amon? He was the person Erin trusted most in the Duke’s mansion. So why?

Erin collapsed on the floor, unable to move properly. The shock was so great that her legs wouldn’t support her.

Sprawled on the ground, she began to crawl. Though she trusted Raymon, something told her she shouldn’t let him catch her now.

Ferdin was dead. His knights were also dead. And Amon… he died trying to help her escape.

Too many lives had been sacrificed because of her. She had to survive, if only for their sake.

As Erin crawled, someone’s foot touched her fingers. Slowly, she raised her head to look at the person before her.

Corelia stood there.

At that moment, screams echoed from far down the corridor. Even in such a situation, she appeared completely calm.

Instinctively, Erin realized that Corelia was behind all this.

“Please spare me…”

At Erin’s words, Corelia tilted her head slightly. Then, placing her foot on Erin’s hand, she spoke.

“Why should I?”

“…”

“Erin, today is a wonderful day.”

Raymon stopped beside Corelia.

“The Duke is returning after a long time.”

“…”

“I’ve always dreamed of this day.”

With those words, Corelia gently stroked Erin’s head.

“Why, why are you doing this…”

She truly couldn’t understand. What had she done so wrong? Erin had always tried to be good. She had believed Corelia when she said Erin was a bad child who needed discipline.